The Artist

About the Artist – Cathy Phaneuf;Simply put, weaving soothes my soul. There is something about the feel of the threads, the rhythm of the treadles, the rustling of the heddles that speaks to me. I never wanted to weave, nope, not me, no interest. Then on a whim I bought and old antique loom on ebay in New Hampshire. Shipping was outrageous, so a friend and I loaded up my truck camper and horse trailer and headed East on a 3 day weekend. She is a weaver and for 3 days we talked about warp and weft, shafts and treadles, shuttles and drafts. When we got back to her place, she let me weave a rug on her loom and sent me on my way. That is how I learned to weave.

Now 20 years later, I am a weaver. I learned on that first loom to weave rugs and then moved on to scarves, and then moved to a loom with more shafts. From there I moved to big looms and lots of shafts. Then I moved to mechanically programmable looms, and just this last year I bought a computer assisted loom. Currently I own and use 7 looms on a regular basis to weave shawls, dishtowels, table linens, vests, jackets, and of course, rugs.

Her WorkThe last year my focus has changed regarding my weaving. I purchased/acquired 4 AVL brand looms which enable me to weave more efficiently and create more intricate patterns. I am now able to put long warps on my looms and change paterns easily, giving me more creative possibilities for shawls, scarves and table linens.

I have added a rug shop at my farm. I weave with mostly upholstery selvedge, cotton sock loopers and a few rag rugs. These rugs all use materials that have been repurposed. All my rugs are machine wash and dry.